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The man who went on a shooting rampage that injured three people at a Muslim prayer hall in Zurich before committing suicide was already a killer and appeared obsessed with the occult, Swiss police said on Tuesday.
The black-clad assailant, identified as a 24-year-old Swiss national of Ghanaian origin, committed suicide after Monday's attack. His body was found on a nearby river bank, police said.
Police chief Christiane Lentjes Meili for the canton of Zurich told reporters that the unnamed gunman had stabbed a former friend to death at a playground only the day before.
"There is no doubt that this man, who shot himself nearby after the attack on the mosque, is responsible for the two acts," she said.
"We don't know anything about the motives," she added, saying he seemed deeply interested in the occult and "corresponding symbols have been found at his home".
Investigators say there was no sign he had any links to terrorism or far-right movements, and he had no known connection to the Islamic centre. It is unclear if he was suffering from mental problems.
Three worshippers, aged 30, 35 and 56, were injured in the shooting. Two were seriously hurt, but all three men were in stable condition after surgery, Ms Lentjes Meili said.
Police launched a manhunt after forensic evidence linked him to Sunday's stabbing of a 24-year-old Swiss man with Chilean roots, who was killed with several knives.
Investigators believe the gunman lived alone. He had been working at an undisclosed shop, but left his job last Friday, police said.
He had a legal permit for the gun used, Ms Lentjes Meili said. Gun ownership is widespread in Switzerland, with an estimated two million weapons in private hands among a population of about eight million.
The Islamic Central Council of Switzerland issued a statement condemning Monday's attack, and urging politicians and the media to "finally take Islamophobia seriously".
The shooting was not the first such attack in Switzerland. In 2004, a Frenchman of Tunisian origin with psychological issues stabbed the imam at a Lausanne mosque as he spoke before some 200 worshippers.
(THE STRAITS TIMES)
